125 Kelvin Place

Cornell Heights Historic District Driving Tour

125 Kelvin Place

Ithaca, New York 14850, United States

Created By: The History Center in Tompkins County

Point of Interest Details

This house provides another example of the stylistic eclecticism so common in the district. It was built in 1903.

The accentuated doorway and balanced symmetry of the house's facade suggest something of the Colonial Revival style, which was popular at the time and which is well represented in several other houses in the district (225 Fall Creek Drive, for example). Unlike those houses, however, this one lacks the classical detailing and window features that distinguish the style. There is an emphasis on horizontal lines in this house--expressed by the flared, overhanging eaves and by the low-pitched roofs and window clusters on the porch and dormer--that suggest a Prairie influence. The exposed roof rafters, which are false, suggest a Craftsman influence.

This house was built for H. Wade Hibbard, professor of mechanical engineering at Cornell. The family of Albert Faust, professor of German, lived here from 1909 through the 1950s.